


Youthful Endeavors

by thatoneeccedentesiast



Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, Child Abuse, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hospitals, Kid Fic, Kidnapping, Nightmares, Rescue, Temper Tantrums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 11:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 19,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1549223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneeccedentesiast/pseuds/thatoneeccedentesiast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to unspecified events, Kakashi Hatake is now seven years old and he'd really, really just like to go hide in his apartment please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

"He's so small!" Naruto exclaimed in what he probably thinks is a whisper for the fifth time in as many minutes.

Rolling his eyes, the jonin-well, he's probably already been downgraded to chunin by this point-turned on Naruto and the girl he was talking to. "We get it Naruto, I'm a kid." He sighed, a whistling sound coming out from behind his hastily fitted mask. Stupid gaps. Stupid baby teeth. Why do they even have baby teeth? Why can't they just keep the same teeth for their entire life? It would save him from embarrassments like this, anyway.

The woman on the left of the blond ninja bit her lip. "He's knows you're a kid...it's just-are you sure you're seven? You look  _really_ tiny..." She murmured.

Looking to his bare feet, Kakashi scowled behind his mask. "Once Sai gets back with clothes that actually fit, I won't." He replied. It's probably not true, he'd been pretty small until puberty and they were going to figure it out eventually.

"So does this mean our team is out of commission-or you are at least?" Sakura questioned as she got up to get a drink from the pitcher on the end-stand next to Kakashi's hospital bed.

Eyes slipping over his students and to the window, he spies the Hokage's tower and began to wonder how long this would take to fix. "No, if they really need me I'm available. I was a chunin at this age, I can handle difficult missions just fine."

"What! No way!" Naruto yelled. "How can you be a chunin even now?!"

Kakashi's brow furrows. "Genius, duh," he quipped.

Sakura fumbled with the straw in her water. "I can't imagine someone so little actually going on missions and not  _dying_..." turning to the window, she remarked, "Maybe I'll talk with Hokage, I don't know how well things would go if you went on a mission in this state..."

Dropping his face into very tiny hands, the boy huffed a breath. He's beginning to remember why he had such a sour disposition at this age,  _no one_ takes a kid seriously-no matter how skilled.

"I'm back!" Sai called walking in with a bag in hand.

Slipping off the bed, Kakashi held out his arms. "Good, hand them over."

The youth looked down. "You hardly come to my chest, how old are you supposed to be again?"

"I'm  _seven,_ now give me the clothes."

"Right, here." Sai agreed, dropping the bag into Kakashi's grubby fingers.

"Finally!" The boy muttered, heading for the bathroom just left of the room.

"Are you going alone?! Is that even safe?" Naruto shouted, standing up from the couch.

"I'll be fine!" And he is. He knows more techniques and ways to use a kunai than even some of the most experienced ninjas. Shaking his head, he locked the door of the bathroom behind him and began to rummage through the clothes. He tossed a few articles aside (what was Sai thinking?) and eventually ended up with some blue pants, a black shirt and sandals that look like-even now-will be a bit too big for him. He growled lowly to himself, no mask. Tugging at the one clipped back with pins, Kakashi decides it won't do.

Looking about the bathroom, he caught sight of a cupboard above the toilet. His first instinct was to simply  _reach_ toward it, but that's quickly squashed when he saw his stubby fingers. Clambering up on the toilet he can graze the door just enough to open it; after doing so, he spied a roll of bandages and made a half-way pleased noise as he batted at it. It took a couple tries, but the bandages did fall from the shelf and into his waiting hands. Shrugging off his clothes, he dressed quickly and hurried to the bathroom door.

His fingers stop on the door knob. He's fine. Well, besides being about twenty-five years too young...after a beat, he came to the conclusion that it isn't reason enough to stick around in a hospital room with his team who are probably just going to gawk at him some more. Skittering back to the toilet, he hopped on top and leaped to the window just a foot away. His fingers grasp at the ledge and he  _heaved_ himself up and out. Tumbling out the window, he realizes that it's a two-story drop into a couple of trees below. He remedy's this new information with the fact that he's done stuff like this tons of times, he'll be okay.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos so far guys! I appreciate them.

Turned out, falling into a couple of trees wasn't as okay as he expected. Maybe it was because he's not used to this new, little body or because his chakra wasn't as easy to manipulate...but, Kakashi Hatake flipped and flopped on a few branches before he got the right amount of chakra in his finger tips that let him grasp onto a thick branch long enough to pull his weight up and glue himself to the limb with his feet instead. Looking to and fro, he noted nothing seemed out of the ordinary (besides a few newly snapped branches) and no one appeared to be coming to check out the trees.

Feeling quite relieved that no one witnessed and were not witnessing this humiliation, the boy checked the scrapes and bruises that covered him. Nothing too bad, he decided as he began to walk himself down the tree. Lessons just ended at the academy about an hour ago, if anyone asks why he looks like he got the crap beat out of him; he'll give them a delightful tale about his day at school...and pray that none of them have kids  _in_ the academy.

Walking through the streets of Konohoagakure, Kakashi keeps his hands in his pockets and does his best to stay to the sides of the streets. He did fairly well for the first fifteen minutes, but, then a colorful advertisement plastered to the small window of a shop caught his eye. Staring at the several cold treats it advertised, the little ninja felt the urge to eat one. Which was strange. He hadn't liked sweet things since...well, since he  _was_ seven. Patting his body and looking to the street, he became frustrated when he realized he didn't have any money on him.

Glancing up and down the road and then peaking around the poster to see a younger woman twirling her hair behind the counter, the little boy smirked behind his wrappings. This was going to be _so_ easy. Carefully undoing the bandages and packing them away in his pocket, Kakashi walked into the shop. He strolled about, poking at some bags of chips and then studying some gum (putting it down in the wrong place when a dinky little toy "catches" his eye), he finally came to the freezer holding the ice cream.

He feigned a happy sound-even smiling-as his eyes flicked to the teenager at the counter who grinned back. Picking one out, he exclaimed "Father said this one was the best!" Before he walked over to the woman who stared down at him.

"Is that all today, kiddo?" She inquired politely.

"Uh-huh!" Kakashi nodded.

She scanned the bar code on it, "That'll be a dollar seventy." The tiny ninja reached into his pocket, then his other pocket...he began to frown as he walked in a circle and then started to breath hard as he craned his neck to look around the shop. Seeing his state, the teenager asked, "What's wrong sweetie?"

Looking to her with his largest, wettest eyes; the boy warbled. "I-I lost the money father gave me..." rubbing at one eye with his knuckle, he hiccuped. "He's going to be so- _o_ upset when he sees me come back without a-anything!"

"Oh sweetheart!" The girl cried, "Don't worry! It's on the house, okay?"

Sniffling, the child made sure to cock his head to the side. "House?" He mumbled in fake-befuddlement, "This is a...store?"

She laughed and reached around, handing him a candy bar to go with the ice cream. "It's a saying, it means it that the ice cream and candy are free today!"

With huge eyes, Kakashi grinned (ensuring she saw the cute little gaps between his white pearls of teeth). "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! You're the nicest lady ever!"

She flushed and waved him off. "It's not a problem...just don't do it again! Not everyone will be as nice as me!" She scolded lightly as he gathered the treats together and scurried out of the store.

Once outside, he scrubbed his eyes dry with his shirt and smirked as he opened the ice cream. "Sucker," he snickered. Licking his hard-won treat, the little ninja glanced to the candy bar and shrugged. Maybe he could eat it later, he concluded as he stuffed it in his pocket.

Walking down the street, he was too distracted to catch the three pairs of eyes following him as he bounded down and away to his apartment...

 


	3. III

By the time he finished his treat and wrapped his bandages back around his face, Kakashi noted the park to the left of him and the flower shop with the boarded window to the right a few paces ahead. He's...oh fifteen-maybe twenty in this state-minutes away from his apartment. Having stopped to throw away his wrapper, he noticed a presence (possibly three) hovering behind him. Keeping utterly still as he considered his options, one of them, spoke:

"You know we're behind you, so why don't you just turn around?"

The little ninja relaxed and did so, recognizing the voice. Eyebrows knit as he stared up at the three genin, he commented "But I didn't know who you were, I was thinkin' I'd run in a second."

The leader-Konohamaru-smirked. "That wouldn't have been smart, we would have chased you!"

The smaller boy shrugged, "Mah, I bet you wouldn't have caught me-I'm fast." And he was, probably, anyway. He had been at this age; when you're so small, being faster than your opponent who was likely at least twice your size had its advantages.

"Stop fighting with the kid, Konohamaru," Moegi ordered as she shoved him aside to lean in and smile at him. "Sorry about him, the  _reason_ why we cornered you was to ask, do we know your dad or something? Because you look  _super_ familiar!"

Kakashi let his gaze drift to the last of the trio-Udon. "Maybe," the younger answered elusively, "My dad's a ninja." Or he was. But, whatever.

"Yeah? Who is he?" Konohamaru demanded, staring him down.

Scowling behind his mask, the little ninja shook his head. "Look-" he grunted-that stupid gap giving the word a flute-like undertone-"I have places to be."

The boy snagged his wrist. "Oh  _come_ on!" He snorted. "You're, what, six?"

"Seven!"

"Not the point, what does a si- _seven_ year old have to do at this time of day? It's no where near dinner time!" He shouted, waving his free arm around a bit. Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi considered kicking the genin in the stomach or even just using a bit of Genjutsu to get himself out of here...then his nose catched whiff of miso soup as a restaurant door opened. Hm. If he hangs out with them long enough, he might be able to pawn them into buying him dinner.

"Okay," he agreed making it sound like the biggest concession ever. Then, crinkling his eyes, he told them. "Let's play a game! If you can guess my dad's name by six, I'll give you this candy bar-" bringing the treat out for them to see and then tucking it away again as he continued. "But if you  _don't..._ I want you to buy me a bowl of miso soup!"

"Yeah!" The three yelled, easily latching on to the challenge and Kakashi ended up feeling quite pleased with his cleverness. He doubted he had anything edible in his house-either it's spoiled or non-existent at this point and what better way to remedy the issue than making someone else pay for his dinner?

Taking back his wrist, the child began to walk with the others trailing behind him. "Start guessing!" He called.

"Um, is it Genma?"

Kakashi scoffed. "No."

"Iwashi!"

"Nope."

"Aw!  _Iruka_?"

Kakashi turned around and glared at the leader of the genin group. "Do I  _look_ anything like him?"

The boy actually seemed to quake a little. "No..."

Bobbing his head, the tiny ninja muttered. "Stop wasting your time and actually give it some thought, then!"

With that, the boy snapped his gaze forward again and let his gaze slip from buildings and roofs to the street around them. By doing this, he's risking his chance of ever getting to his apartment and if someone who knew him at this age sees him...well, won't that be fun? When he gets the chance, he should probably lift a kunai off one of the kids. It's never a good idea to have nothing on hand.

"What about-"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You've hardly thought about it a minute, I doubt you have the right answer," Kakashi replied easily as he fell back to walk beside the pig-tail wearing girl.

"You're really mean for a little kid!" Konohamaru whined.

The small ninja turned his stare skyward and smiled to himself. He'd forgotten how fun twelve-year-olds were to mess with.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and subscriptions this far!

He won, of course. Sitting on his knees with the bowl of soup before him, he was just about to tuck in when his gaze flickered to the three kids around him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the half-melted treat and threw it on the table.

"You can have that still," he told them.

Udon poked it as the girl dropped her head to the table with a thud. "Thanks," the genin murmured (the sardonic undertone not lost on him), leaving the candy where Kakashi put it.

Crinkling his eyes in amusement, the child put his hands to his bandages when-outside. He saw Ino and Choji. Pouting behind his wrapings, the little ninja attempted to crawl under the table, but it was too late. The pair had come into the restaurant and one of the waitresses had pointed them in his direction.

"Uh-oh," Kakashi muttered as he made to slip away.

"I don't think so," Choji said grabbing him by the back of his shirt and throwing him on his shoulder like he weighed nothing (which he probably did).

Looking to the surprised genin and his bowl of soup, the child whined, "Mah, can't we at least get a to-go bowl for the soup?"

Ino stepped in front of his vision, her mouth quirked in irritation. "Do you know how long we've been looking for you?"

"Yes."

The teenager rubbed at her forehead. "Oh my god," she grumbled. "Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and  _Yamato_ have been worried sick!"

Kakashi could really care less. He's  _seven,_ not defenseless. "Yeah, I got that," he replied, "So soup?"

"No!" Ino snapped. "C'mon Choji let's go!"

As they leave, the genin appeared to come out of their stupor long enough for their little leader to yell, "Hey! We never learned who your dad is!"

Waving at them, Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "You don't know who he is!" This revelation was met by two groans and cry of indignation and with chuckles vibrating silently in his chest, the boy began to squirm.

"Stop that, I might drop you." Choji warned as they headed back toward the hospital.

Still fussing, the boy grunted "Well, this isn't comfortable. Couldn't I walk instead?" There's a beat of silence before the tiny ninja's put on his feet. "Thanks!" He chirped, a whistle following his gratitude.

The big man snorted and grabbed his hand, causing Kakashi's shoulders to slump dejectedly. Did they really think he was going to run away  _now_? He's little, not stupid.

"So Kakashi..." Ino started. Shifting his gaze long-wise, he looked to the girl in nonplussed quiet. "What exactly were you trying to do? I don't think making a team of genin pay for your dinner was what you had in mind when you ran off."

Dipping his head in agreement, the child answered "No it wasn't." His hand is squeezed rather roughly after a minute of silence and the little ninja exhaled unhappily. "I was trying to get home."

"Why?"

"To hide, obviously."

"What? Are you scared of us now?" The girl giggled, smirking down at him.

"No!" He snarled. "It's pointless to be with people when they don't take you seriously!"

"Oh come on, I'm sure they'll treat you like they always do." Ino consoled. Kakashi didn't reply, instead he turned his stare on the ground and did his best to cross his arms while still in Choji's grip. The teenager reached over, ruffling his hair. "Cheer up, I bet they'll have this fixed by tomorrow!"

The tiny ninja sent the girl a surprising look of venom. "I bet they  _won't_ and you don't even treat me with respect anymore!" And with a careful tug, he slipped easily from Choji's hold and darted a little ways away from the duo. He won't try to runaway, they know where he'll go and so, it is pointless.

They didn't come after him for escaping the large teenager's grip and for that, Kakashi was grateful.


	5. V

"Here he is!" Ino declared walking into the room empty off all but Sai.

Getting up from the bed where he had been laid across it, he put his sketch book aside and nodded at them."Thank you," he said, "I think Sakura is on the first floor looking in the cafeteria again if you'd go fetch her."

The blond stepped back. "Right," she agreed, "You can go let everyone else know that we've found him, Choji." The two leave.

"So..." Kakashi mumbled, lifting his gaze to meet the teenager's.

"You ran away," Sai stated.

"I didn't."

"You  _didn't_?"

"Mah, do I really have to explain myself to you?" When Sai continued to stare at him with dubious dark eyes, Kakashi rolled his gaze away and let the lie flow from his tongue. "When I was in the bathroom, I saw a cat stuck in the trees below and jumped down to help get it out and then I decided to take it to its owner, after I did that I got...distracted."

A curious gleam came to the teenager's eye, but before it could become a question, the resounding  _tap, tap, tap_ of feet running on tile floated in from the hallway. Jerking away from the doorway as he simultaneously twisted his neck around to see who it was, Kakashi was far from surprised. Sakura stood there, one hand on the frame and the other on her knee as her eyes darted about before landing on him.

"Kakashi!" She cried half-relieved and half-furious. "What were you thinking!?" She shouted, shooting forward and lifting him off the ground by the front of his shirt.

Putting one of his tiny hands on top of hers, the boy felt no need to explain himself to her. "If you put me down, I might tell you" He answered.

The girl made a low growling noise and he saw her other hand rise-"Sakura!" Sai snapped and the pink-haired girl's ire was diverted.

"What is it Sai?" She demanded as Kakashi managed to slip out of his shirt and to the ground.

The dark-haired youth frowned at her. "I don't think hitting a seven-year-old is a good idea."

The girl slumped a bit. "You're right...even if he's not-hey!" She yelped, realizing Kakashi had wormed his way out of his shirt and was now putting on a green tank top dotted with childish depictions of dogs. Dropping the article of clothing, she rounded on him again. "Kakashi!"

He lifted his face and gazed at her with his widest eyes. "Yes?" He questioned, the 's' turning into a planned whistling sound.

Her pupil's dilate. "I-" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't run off again, okay? We don't know if this  _thing_ is still having any affect on you."

The tiny ninja's eyes curved slightly. "Of course Sakura," he concurred. The pink-haired teen studied him for a moment, stare flickering between his scrapes and his bruises.

"How did you get those?" She asked as she took his arm between her hands and began healing them.

"Um..."

"From jumping out the window, correct? That seems most likely," Sai piped up from where he was slouched on the bed.

Sakura frowned. "What? When you hit those trees? That doesn't sound good, you're usually so coordinated..."

Scowling behind the bandages, the boy jerked his eyes to the floor. "No! I got them while helping and old lady in her garden!" He blurted, the lie from before forgotten in his indignation.

The two share a look.

"I did!" Kakashi had no interest in letting them know how unprepared he was in this  _stupid_ body when he fell into the trees' canopies.

Releasing him, Sakura stood up and muttered; "Well, however you got those bumps, they're gone now..."

Crossing his arms, the boy readied to argue further when a cry came from the doorway. "They  _did_ find you! Man, you're really good at hiding!" Naruto shouted as he walked into the room grinning stupidly.

That, though, was the least of his problems as he saw who trailed in after Naruto. Not only was there Yamato, there was  _Gai,_  and  _Kurenai._ Glowering at the individuals, Kakashi snarled. "Why did you have to come here?"

The woman smirked. "Come on Kakashi, we had to see how cute you are!" She leaned down and made a grab for his cheek to emphasize this, "If you hadn't disappeared, I bet none of us would have ever learned about your situation."

The little ninja scoffed. "Now that you've seen me, you can leave."

"Actually..." Sakura started, "We kind of had them come up because we need to keep you under supervision for a day or two and-"

"I should have kicked him in the stomach," Kakashi grumbled.

Sakura shot him a glare and continued. "We were hoping someone who knew him well could watch Kakashi-sensei for a couple days."

The children's eyes moved to the three jonin standing by the door, waiting for their answers.


	6. VI

At Sakura's pleading stare, Kurenai put up her hands and shook her head. "I already have one kid in my house, I don't think I can deal with two!" She explained..

Yamato cocked his head to the side. "I might be tempted to smother him in his sleep depending on what he says while he's awake," he remarked. The pink-haired girl pressed the heal of her hand to her forehead and turned her gaze on Gai.

"I'll happily watch over my ri-"

Kakashi held up a hand-killing the hope blooming on the girl's face while he was at it. "There's no way I'd  _ever_ spend the night with Gai under my own volition," He said, causing the sparkle in the green spandex wearing ninja's eye to die. Turning around to face his students, the boy muttered, "What about you three? If I have to stay with someone, why does it need to be a jonin? Don't you all know me well enough by now?"

Sakura frowned as she twisted a strand of pink between her fingers. "I have a night shift at the hospital tonight," she sighed. "I would have spent the night with you otherwise..." Truly looking contrite enough for the little ninja to believe her.

"I'm not even staying in my apartment tonight, it was flooded the other day when a pipe burst..." Sai explained uncomfortably, averting his gaze. He was so lying, the boy bet.

"You can't stay in Naruto's pig-sty!" Sakura objected horrified as the only option became clear.

The blond's eyes widened and he was taking a step back-like he was planning to jump out the hospital room's window before he could be made to keep Kakashi. So, before he could, with eyes curving upward, the boy replied, "He can come stay at my apartment, I have an extra bed."

The pink-haired teenager gnawed at her lip. "If you're sure..." Not at all looking happy with the option as Naruto slumped.

"Mah, you worry too much! It'll be fine, won't it, Naruto?" The little ninja demanded as he shifted his stare to the bewildered teen.

Springing to life once more, Naruto shouted confidently, "Of course! You better believe it!" Though, his face gave away the rouse due to the worry line resting between his brows. Grabbing at one of the sleeves of Naruto's jacket-which was knotted around his waist-Kakashi gave an unnecessarily hard tug.

"Hey!" Naruto yelped, peddling his arms back to get his balance as Kakashi continued to walk toward the room's door-shoving past Gai and Kurenai when the chance arose.

"Let's go then!"

"Make sure he eats something Naruto!" Sakura called after them, her voice coming out muffled from the bodies still hovering in the doorway.

* * *

Once on the streets where the shadows were already beginning to stretch from the setting sun did Kakashi release his iron-grip on Naruto.

Sighing as he smoothed out the wrinkles from tiny hands, Naruto turned his gaze on his little teacher. "So, um, do you have dinner food in your house?"

"No."

The blond perked up perceptibly. "We can get-"

"No!" Kakashi snapped. "We'll get some take-out from this place by my apartment."

There was a pause and then, "...Do they have ramen?"

The boy rubbed at his uncovered forehead (and wasn't that just the strangest thing? He missed having Obito with him). "Yes, Naruto," he grumbled.

"Yeah!" The blond cheered, pumping his fist into the air with enthusiasm.

Ducking his head, Kakashi complained. "Kids these days!"

Having heard him, Naruto swept his tiny teacher up from the ground and onto his shoulders. The boy still squawking, the ninja laughed, "You're younger than me Kakashi-sensei!"

Twisting blond tufts none too kindly, the child eventually huffed "Yeah, whatever." Elbows resting on his student's head as he took in the streets around him from his new height (or maybe his old one? Close enough to it, anyway, had he truly forgotten what it was like already?).

 


	7. VII

_The dust clears, Obito's half-crushed beneath the boulder...but, somehow, he manages to give a smile despite it all; he doesn't think he can stand-_

_Her eyes are so very wide, her pupils so very dark in the middle of all that white; he pulls his arm back, Rin...he hasn't-he doesn't-_

_He can see the Nine-Tailed fox, but he can't do anything and Minato-Sensei he is **out** there and-oh god, oh god-_

"Kakashi!"

The child's eyes popped open; in the darkness all he could make out was a wide pair of blue eyes and blond hair. Relief sparked through him, it was all just a dream..."Min-" He stopped. Eyes better adjusted, he saw the tell-tale lines on the tanned cheeks and the missing foot of height that belonged to his sensei. "Oh," he breathed, curling in on himself.

A hand came to rest on his back. "Are...are you okay Kakashi-sensei?"

"Go 'way Naruto, 'm fine." Kakashi muttered, face half-buried in his pillow. The hand didn't slip, if anything, it became stronger-rubbing up and down his back. Shifting his face so his mouth is unblocked, the little ninja snapped "Go!"

The hand paused.

"No," Naruto refused.

Shoving himself up on nightmare-weak arms, Kakashi twisted around and snarled. "Leave before I kill you!"

The hand that was so heavy (so warm, so  _real_ ) dropped, but only long enough for it to come to his face and wipe away the frightened tears. "You're crying..." his student murmured sadly.

" _I'm_ not, Obi-" but that can't be so anymore, his eye is gone, his best friend is  _gone_. The boy quaked with a suppressed sob. Everyone is  _dead_! Obito, Rin, Kushina, Minato,  _father_! And they've been dead for years, but it all felt so  _raw,_ like it happened only last week...

Naruto brought him against his chest and held him there. "It's okay to cry, they were you're most important people...it's okay to miss them."

Even as he hid his face in Naruto's stomach, silently trembling and crying into his night-shirt, Kakashi couldn't help but think it  _wasn't_ okay. He hadn't cried like this in years, hadn't had such awful nightmares in years (most of the time, it only includes one-two-of his important people's deaths, not  _all_ of them).

Somewhere in all of the confusion, sadness and fear the boy put himself in sleep once more-thankfully black and endless.

* * *

Sakura knocked on Kakashi's door for what had to be the eighth or ninth time, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance, she yelled; "If one of you doesn't open this door, I'm going to break it down lazy bones!"

When a beat passed with no recognition, she decided not to wait and kicked it in. That ended up being a big mistake. A bunch of kunai shot out at her, causing her to shriek and fall back against the landing's ancient railing (thank god that didn't give away!). This time, though, someone does show up in the doorway. It's Naruto.

Blue eyes wide, he cried "Sakura! Are you okay?"

Getting up, she snapped. "Do I look fine to you!? I just had about fifty kunai attack me out of nowhere!"

"Oh, um, sorry...I was in the shower and-well, Kakashi-sensei's sulking..." He admitted sheepishly, rubbing at his neck.

Taking a step toward the blond, voice softer, she inquired "How is he?"

"Oh, um, great!" The other ninja saw the way she pursed her lips and sighed. "...he's bad, Sakura, I don't know what we can do for him..."

"Bad," the girl repeated. "How bad?"

"Nightmares. Crying. I think he almost mistook me for  _his_ Sensei!"

The pink-haired teenager bit her lip. "I was afraid something like that might happen-reverting in behavior to his given age, I mean."

"Then what do we do?" Naruto demanded.

"Keep him busy, the Hokage has her best people working on how to fix this." Curling a rope of hair behind her ear, the ninja said "Bring him to the spot-I told Sai to meet us there today, I think Kakashi-sensei would appreciate training above all else."

"Right," The other nodded, "I'll drag him over by his ankles if I have to!"

Sakura chuckled into her palm. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah! Bye Sakura!" Naruto shouted, waving to her as she darted off for their meeting spot. Turning back to the apartment, Naruto muttered "Now I just need to get him to come out of his room..."


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, subscriptions and bookmark!

Kakashi kept his arms crossed as his students sparred in front of him. He had wanted to stay in his apartment, was that truly so awful? Wasn't being seven embarrassing enough? Did he  _really_ need to be out here so anyone and everyone could see him to make it true? Scowling at the dirt beneath his too-large sandals, the little ninja waited for the other teams to show up. He wouldn't put it past Gai to tell Tenten and Lee about his new found "youth" (he wouldn't be Gai otherwise). And Kurenai...depending on if any of her, or Asuma's students stopped by to check on her; she'd talk about it. Though, since Choji and Ino were the ones to find him, he bet the kids didn't even need to be told by their teachers.

"C'mon Kakashi-sensei! Quit sulking and come spar with one of us!" Sakura yelled as she dodged a punch from Naruto.

The child considered the offer once more. Someone would end up at a disadvantage-who, was the question. Would they underestimate him? Or would they be too strong for him in this state? His fingers danced over the pouches holding his weapons-he should probably throw a few first, re-calibrate. Taking out a shuriken he tossed it with effortless ease toward the sparing pair, causing them to yelp and screech. He moved on to the kunai; throwing one at Sai who managed to block it with his latest sketchbook-the frown he received spoke of revenge to come (oh well) and finally, he lashed out with his body.

He landed a couple hits on Naruto and Sakura, he then spun out and dodged a few kicks and hands as he jumped out of the fray. He snagged a tree branch that hung low and scrambled to hide among the foliage.

"Does that mean you're sparring with us!?" Naruo shouted into the woods, taking a step toward the edge.

Wasting no time, Kakashi called up two clones and commanded, "Go and distract them." They nodded and like lighting, the duo pounced out of the trees and onto Naruto and Sakura; distracting them for the second the child needed to bring out his shuriken and aim them at his off-guard students.

They whistle through the air, causing more shrieks as the clones poof out of existence, the little ninja sighs. No more chakra; he may have built up a reserve over the years, but this tiny body's chakra amount was dismal.

As the pair try and recover from the onslaught-pivoting back to back-Kakashi leaped fearlessly.

"Oh I'm not falling for that again!" Sakura screamed, kunai out and ready to stab him; using a hand to spring himself off her shoulder  and to the ground in front of Naruto, he didn't wait to strike the blond down with a round-house kick to the stomach.

There isn't as much power behind it in comparison to when using it as an adult, but it still left the youth clutching his middle as the girl used the blond's back to round herself over to face him.

"C'mon, just you and me!" She declared, kunai in one hand and the other a fist.

Kakashi set himself back, ready to fight when a foot collided with his behind causing him to catapult forward and skid in the dirt for several inches. Groaning, the boy cursed himself while he picked his body off the ground to see Sai glowering at him.

"You shouldn't have ruined that sketchbook-I just bought it," he told him.

The little ninja spat at him, hating himself more for not being wary of Sai. Just because he was fighting Naruto and Sakura didn't mean the other couldn't have jumped in (as he so obviously did).

A knuckle to her mouth, Sakura called; "Are you okay Kakashi-sensei."

Other than an aching back-end (which will have the  _worst_ bruise tomorrow), he felt fine. "I'm alright," he said to her.

From the ground, Naruto whined "Why aren't you asking  _me_ if I'm okay, Sakura?"

The pink-haired teen looked to the other ninja unfazed. "Because you're  _always_ okay Naruto."

"That's so mean!" Naruto complained as Kakashi sighed and fell into a crouch. He was tired.


	9. IX

Kakashi ended up being a brat without even trying. About an hour after one, his team still in full training-mode, the boy found himself yelling at the top of his lungs;

"This is stupid! Why do I have to be here?! I want to go home!"

For good measure, Kakashi even made sure the (mostly) involuntary whistling from the gap between his teeth reached a piercing pitch as he sucked in a breath to repeat his complaint while he stomped his tiny foot. His students paused in their training to watch the meltdown in uncertainty and just as the child was about to belt out a most fearsome threat, a certain someone walked into the clearing.

Maybe it was luck, divine intervention-or a knowledgeable tip from an insider; but the academy teacher, Iruka, wandered into the clearing to find the teenagers and little Kakashi on the verge of blowing up.

"What's going on here?!" He demanded, stopping to glare at his old students and Sai.

"Um..."

Coming up behind Kakashi, he turned the child around and knelt in front of the little ninja. "Hey," he greeted; drawing a glossy gaze.

"Hi."

Putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, Iruka asked "Have you had lunch yet?"

His question was met with an unhappy glare. "Haven't had  _breakfast_ yet," he told him. The man's eyes snapped to the trio hovering close by-the look he gave them spoke volumes as he reached out and took the tiny ninja's hand.

"Oh, well that's just fine!" He enthused, "We can go get a big lunch then!" A wide smile on his face.

The child sent him his most dubious stare as he grasped on to the hand. "As many Saury as I want?"

Ruffling his hair, the chunin stood up and agreed. "As many as you can eat!"

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called, taking a step toward the duo.

The dark-haired man waved his old students off. "I got him," he explained. "Should I drop him off at his apartment, say five-ish?"

Out-stretched hand dropping to his side, the blond muttered, "Uh, sure..."

"Okay! Bye!" Iruka concluded, not turning to face the youth.

"Bye!" Kakashi mimicked; head twisting back to crinkle his eyes at them.

A little while after the child and man left, Naruto shifted his gaze to his teammates.

"Uh...what just happened?"

* * *

"Iruka-sensei!"

The man shushed him with a finger to his lips; the body tossed over his shoulder shifting. "Be quiet," he hissed, "He's sleeping."

Naruto blinked. "He-" he stopped and corrected his voice to a still rather loud whisper. "is!"

"I guess that's the best I can hope from you, huh?" The chunin sighed, a little smile on his lips. "Here," he said, taking the little ninja and offering him to his old student.

"Thanks!" Naruto replied, fumbling with Kakashi.

Eyes soft, the man nodded. "You're welcome..." his old smile faded and came back as a frown. "You need to take better care of him," he scolded.

"I-" the ninja stopped, perplexed. "What do you mean?"

Tugging at his hair in agitation, Iruka remarked. "No  _breakfast_?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Erm...we were running late?"

"When did you plan to stop for lunch, then?"

"...we never stopped for lunch."

The man's hand waved around as if this was some great proof. "He told me he trained with you for a bit," he said, "how many hours was that really?"

Wincing at the tone, the younger ninja mumbled "Um, two? Two and a half?"

"He was falling asleep half way through lunch too, how long did he sleep last night?" The chunin questioned, a hard glint to his generally open eyes.

"I-he wouldn't at first...when he did eventually go to bed, he woke up about halfway through with nightmares..."

Nodding, the man sighed and put a hand on his old student's shoulder. "He's a kid, Naruto," he reminded him. "He may not like it, but there are some basic requirements for kids-that includes at least eight hours of sleep, food three times a day and a break now and then to keep him from over-doing it." _  
_

Looking to the little body against him, Naruto bobbed his head in guilty understanding. "I get it Iruka-sensei..."

The chunin smiled. "It's okay," he soothed, "You can't be expected to just know these things." Stepping back, the man leaves with one final parting comment. "Don't let it happen again-the Hokage isn't going to send someone to check up on you all everyday."

Watching the man disappear, the blond ticked that question off his list of unanswered questions. It wasn't divine intervention that sent his old sensei to them...but the Hokage with all of her infinite wisdom...did that make her divine?

"Ow," Naruto moaned closing the front door. "My head..."


	10. X

Underneath the covers, the tiny body squirmed and shuddered. Suddenly, he stilled before jolting up; wiping his brow of sweat, Kakashi looked about his room. In one corner, Naruto slept on his borrowed bed (which he must have dragged in from the living room). Thankfully, the blond hand't picked up on his nightmare and slept on oblivious. Sighing his relief, Kakashi slipped from his sweat-dampened bedding and slowly to his bathroom.

There, he changed out of his sleep-clothes and into day-clothes even as he caught sight of the little clock he kept in the bathroom that glowed with a three and ten. Tonight's nightmare might have been thankfully quiet, but that didn't mean he was going to stick around for another one. So, without thought for the teenager in the bedroom; Kakashi left his house and began the trek to the one place that always calmed him down.

* * *

Reaching the memorial stone, the tiny ninja collapsed in front of it; his little fingers instantly reaching out to trace the names on it. He'd only ever known a few of these ninja's personally and several more by name and face alone, but it didn't stop him from feeling grief over their passing. Some of these people shouldn't have had to die. The children especially. It may have taken until he had a team of his own, but he realized now just how young some of the ninja he's seen and fought are; they're hardly old enough to be responsible for their actions, let alone giving up theirlives for things they didn't fully grasp.

Fingers flitting over Obito's name for the fifth time, he pondered what would have happened if he hadn't been promoted. What if he had stayed a chunin for another day? Week? Year? (would sensei have been there that day, that mission? Would he have still lost his eye? Would sensei have saved Rin and Obito? Would Obito have come home with his new eyes to show off? Would he still have had his team at the end of the war? Would it have changed the Uchiha Massacre? Would it have..) The boy shook his head. It was silly to think about things that could never be.  _  
_

Sighing, the small ninja let his eyes droop as he leaned against the monument; hand tucked between his heart and the cool stone.

* * *

The next time Kakashi awoke, it was to the leering face of Yamato. Pushing himself away from the stone, Kakashi rubbed at his eyes and demanded, "What?"

The man leaned in, a smirk firmly planted on his lips. "You're in so much trouble," He snickered, "You realize that, don't you?"

"Why?" The child yawned.

"Disappearing! This is, what, the second time?"

Feeling not nearly as contrite as he probably should, Kakashi just glared up at the older ninja. "What are they going to do? Pull me from duty? I already can't go on missions."

The glint that came to Yamato's eye was almost gleeful. "Since Naruto can't seem to take good care of you..." he paused for what the little ninja assumed to be dramatic flair before finishing; "They're thinking they'll have you go stay with Gai!"

Eyes growing shockingly wide, Kakashi grabs onto Yamato's shirt and howled, "They can't!" the brunette stared at him in disbelief as he worked himself into a frenzy. "Why can't they just kill me? They might as well actually torture me if they want to punish me!" And maybe he was being a bit superfluous with his reaction (because Gai really wasn't that bad once you snapped at him to cut it out); but Kakashi really liked messing with Yamato.

The ninja awkwardly reached down and patted his head. "Er, there, there..." he muttered, "I'll see what I can do, I can suggest they give Naruto another chance...but you can't run off anymore, alright?" He cajoled, trying to catch the little boy's gaze.

Wrapping his tiny arms around the man, Kakashi's glad that he decided to wrap the bandages around his face before skipping out last night as he mumbled "Thankyouthankyouthankyou," into Yamato's stomach all the while hiding the curve of his smiling eyes.

 


	11. XI

He must have been scolded for an hour at least-if not longer. By the end, Kakashi had figured out how to impress upon them that  _yes_ he was sorry for running off in the middle of the night and wouldn't be doing it again. Even though they threatened to send him to Gai several times, it seemed whatever Yamato had told them when they first arrived at the Hokage tower, meant the threat wouldn't be carried through. Small mercies, he supposed.

Here he was, though, at the hospital; facing what he bet was supposed to be punishment for his latest escapade.

"Any notable physical changes in the last twenty-four hours?"

Kicking his feet in a way that caused his sandals to almost slip off before sliding back on his feet again, the boy hardly paid the medic nin any attention at all. "Nope," he replied; purposefully popping the end of the word.

There was the scritch-scratch of pen followed by, "What about notable emotional changes?"

The small ninja sighed. Did wanting to pet every dog he saw count as emotional? Because he always felt very put-out when they couldn't stop to do so (though, he always felt bad when he couldn't stop to pet dogs as a grown-up too).

"I don't think so," he answered finally.

The ninja paused mid-pen stroke. The medic nin glared for several moments, as if it would make him give a better answer, before continuing with "And mental?"

"Oh, does wanting to eat sweet things count? I hated sweet things just a couple days ago," he answered, realizing he need to give  _something_ before they began demanding he stay the night for observation.

"That's physical," the adult gritted, pen scrawling roughly on his form.

Crinkling his eyes in a cavalier manner, the child shrugged. "Whoops," he said, "Can I go now?" They'd done the physical tests, run him through a series of memory and mental tests and now asked him questions; what more could they need?

"Go," the ninja half-concurred and half-ordered. Not waiting a second more, Kakashi was off.

* * *

Outside the hospital, he found his students waiting for him with Yamato.

"Hey," he called.

"That didn't take long," Sakura remarked; eyes looking to the highest windows of the building.

The child frowned. "I was in there over an hour and a half."

"Can we go now?!" Naruto shouted, obviously itching to do something.

The girl glared at her teammate. "I think we should get something to eat," she replied, "Did they feed you in there, Kakashi-sensei?"

He shook his head. "No," he answered, "It's not their job to feed me."

"I guess that's settled then," Sai remarked, closing his sketchbook as he got up from where he was seated on a bench.

"C'mon then," Sakura urged; fingers grasping for the little ninja's.

Jerking out of reach, the boy couldn't help but snap. "I don't need hand holding!"

The ninja blushed a deep red and retracted quickly. "Sorry!" She muttered.

"Hey, now," Naruto chided coming up behind them. "You shouldn't be mean to Sakura!"

The comment and scolding was achingly familiar and just out-of-character enough for Kakashi to almost believe it was Minato-sensei speaking long enough for him to blurt. "Sorry sen-" stopping himself before it could become something of consequence. Even though he stopped himself from finishing the sentence, it did nothing to curb the series of glances above his head as he struggled himself with the puzzling development.

The tiny ninja didn't understand why he kept slipping up. He  _knew_ the blond wasn't his sensei (his personality was always a bit more like Kushina, anyway); yet...something in him, it was fighting to make itself dominate. It was that instinctual seven-year-old piece of him that he'd long grown out of, if Kakashi wasn't careful, that part would flare out of check and would overpower his adult sensibilities.


	12. XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, subscription and comment!

"Do you really think he's Hatake's kid?"

"He has to be!" Gesturing out to the boy walking in the middle of the group, the man said, "Just look at that hair! And he's wearing a  _mask,_ if that's not a sign, I don't know what is."

The other scratched at his head. "He's pretty scrawny..."

"Come on," his companion snorted, "He's probably-five-or somethin' I bet that's why he's not in the academy."

"Where do you think his dad is?"

"A mission? Probably top-secret or we would have heard about it by now..." One trailed off as his eyes followed the group into a restaurant.

Shifting to peer into the building's front window, the man muttered. "And you're sure he's worth kidnapping?"

Displaying his palms outward as he gestured to the eatery below, the other exclaimed, "Of course!" Glaring at his partner, he sneered. "Why else would the kid have all those ninjas with him?"

"You're right.." The man relented. "When should we go after him, you think?"

"I saw him with just one ninja the other night-I think they even took him to the place where he's staying with one of the group." He explained kneeling down to let his fingers recreating the information on the roof's dirt underneath his feet. "So, all we have to do is go to where he's staying and wait for them to come back. We can handle one ninja, don't you think?"

"But that blond one...he's the-"

"Shh!" The other hissed. "That doesn't matter, one of us just has to distract him long enough to snag the kid."

"Okay."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah," the other concurred.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the restaurant, Kakashi's students were fighting to get him to eat.

"Come on sensei!" Sakura pressed, "None of us will look at your face!"

Glaring at her over his meal, the child crossed his arms and shook his head. "You won't even let me use my book."

Face a shade less than red, the teenager groaned. "That's an adult book! How's it going to look if a  _seven-year-old_ is holding it in front of his face?"

Casting his gaze to the ceiling, the little ninja came to decide that he wouldn't eat at all this morning. "We're  _ninjas_ the civilians expect us to be strange!" He argued.

Forehead, meeting her palm; the girl turned to Yamato. "Do something!" She demanded in a shrill tone.

The man blinked. "Okay..." he agreed before shifting to face Kakashi fully. "Eat your breakfast!" He ordered, making one of those ridiculous faces at him.

Pouting behind his bandages, the boy makes certain his little foot connects with Yamato's knee as he belligerently screamed "NO!"

This startled more than one patron and earned glowers all around (even a few whispers-bonus points!). Seemingly shaken by the shriek, the ninja shirked back. "Um, okay," he muttered. Raising a hand, he called. "Waitress! We'd like a to-go box!"

Internally gloating at the win, Kakashi began to squirm down from the bench. "I need to go to the bathroom," he lied.

"I'll come with," Sai offered jumping up after him.

Furrowing his brow in a scowl, the child said nothing as the other followed after him.

Upon arriving, he pointed out, "It's a one person bathroom."

The teenager nodded. "It is," he acknowledged. "Now," he started, "Be out in five minutes or less or I'll be forced to kick the door down!" It was said with a smile, but Kakashi was far from dumb. The little brat was threatening him.

"Fine," he grumbled. Walking in, he closed the door behind him and turned to the sink. Above it was a slightly grimy mirror that he couldn't help but find his reflection in. It surprised him how young he actually looked-he'd been ignoring mirrors for this very reason, seeing his face made it all the more real and caused him to wonder if this wouldn't be permanent because it was so  _hard_ to think just a few days ago this chubby, bandaged wrapped face had been lean and hidden with a mask.

"Don't I look ridiculous?" He chuckled in a self deprecating way. Reaching out, he realized he was much farther from the mirror than expected and his arm was no where near long enough to reach out and touch his reflection. "And stupid too..." he finished off in an unhappy mutter.

A loud knock resounded from the door. "Two minutes!"

The small ninja glared at the ugly-colored wood. When had his life turned into this? Taking orders from  _his_ underlings? Pointing at his mirror, the child growled;

"This is all your fault!" And for a moment, he felt better for having blamed someone (even if it was his own reflection).


	13. XIII

Juggling three bags of groceries along with try to keep his dozing teacher on his back, Naruto grumbled, "First he tells me we need to go grocery shopping because eating out all the time is too expensive, but then he's the one complaining about how long it takes and finally! Finally he falls asleep leaning against me while I was paying for  _his_ fish!" Bouncing the child to retain his hold, the blond sighed. "Little brat," the words, though, are without venom.

As they near Kakashi's apartment, Naruto's gaze found the blazing moon hanging low in the sky. Smiling, he shifted the bags once more and actually planned to set them down to re-arrange the child to cling to his front when-

"Don't make a move."

A low voice hissed in his ear, kunai to his neck.

"You've made a big mistake," Naruto growled; his nails digging into his palms.

"I don't think so!" Another voice called as a heavy weight collided with his head.

Stumbling and dropping two of the bags, the ninja did his best to fight the blurring of his vision and swung the bag at the nearest attacker only to have his feet kicked out from beneath him as his little teacher was yanked from his back.

"NO!" Naruto screamed, fighting to catch his balance before pouncing at the masked man who held Kakashi.

Kakashi for his part, was fighting valiantly against the arms that held him-using every tacit at his disposal to get himself out of the bear-hug the kidnapper had put him in. Unfortunately, the child lacked the strength necessary to escape; his struggles seemed to agitate his captor who hit him once with the blunt end of a kunai to the head.

Witnessing this, Naruto was more than ready to dig his fingers into the masked-man's eyes as the tiny ninja slumped in the other's hold; but before he could touch them, they were gone.

"Dammit!" Naruto howled, eyes searching around for any clues or indications for where they might of gone and who they were; a minute later, without having any luck, he gave up.

Roaring out his frustration, he sprinted down the street, yelling loudly "SOME JERKS JUST TOOK KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Lights turned on in apartment windows and heads turned in shops and restaurants as the odd youth ran down the road-nearly foaming from the mouth with rage.

Coming to Sakura's home, Naruto pounded urgently at the door until it was yanked open so suddenly it too great care to ensure he did not fall on the person standing on the other side of the threshold.

Unsurprisingly, it's Sakura standing there with a hand on her hip and lips pulled thin.

"What do you want Naruto? Where's Kakashi-sensei?" She demanded.

Panting as he mouth words that couldn't sound, the blond boy eventually cried "They took him! These guys took him!"

The pink-haired teen gaped. "What?" She brought a hand to her mouth, "How could you let that happen Naruto!?" She demanded. Turning away from the door for a moment, she comes back yanking on shoes as she walks out closing the door behind her. "You're showing me where it happened right now!" She snapped, yanking him along by his arm as they follow Naruto's path back to the scene of the crime.


	14. XIV

Eyes scrutinizing the scattered contents of the ripped and trampled upon grocery bags in the dirty street, Sakura put a hand to her face.

"This is just great, Naruto!" She heaved, waving to the instant ramen, the fish being taken apart by bugs, and to the spilled milk. "They didn't even leave behind any weapons!" She turned on him; "They did use some, didn't they? That's what you said!"

Naruto held up his hands, "Jeez Sakura! I didn't stay to see if they left clues!"

"Of course you didn't, you idiot! A knucklehead like you never thinks before acting!" She shouted back at the ninja causing him to back up when she lifted a fist. The girl growled and launched forward, snagging the boy by the wrist. "C'mon, we need to get Sai and Yamato..."

"I'm sorry Sakura!" Naruto whispered as they took off.

The pink-haired girl's gaze gentled and she squeezed the wrist in her grip; letting the boy know she didn't hold it against him.

* * *

Kakashi woke up bound. Looking up from where he was, he struggled to right himself as he scoped out his surroundings. A room, it appeared residential but it was without windows and only held a table with a mismatched collection of chairs and what appeared to be a makeshift bookcase in the corner of the room.

"You're awake."

The little ninja jumped. He attempted to twist around to face his kidnapper, but he obviously wasn't quick enough for them because he felt himself lifted from the floor by a hand. All too soon, the child was face to face with his masked captor. The man's eyes twinkled oddly;

"You'd think the great copy-cat nin would be able to afford better guards for his kid," he remarked.

Some of the questions in Kakashi's head quieted. So the man thought he had a kid (and he was that kid), but that did little else. Why would this ninja want his kid? Revenge? Leverage? Ransom? Too many possibilities and the kidnapper had yet to hint to what.

"If you don't let me go my dad's gonna beat you up!" Kakashi declared, wondering what would happen.

The man chuckled. "Yeah right," he sneered, "We've got this planned, kid; you're  _never_ going to be able to pin this on us!"

The boy felt fear gnaw at his stomach. "He'll know if you kill me," he warned.

"I bet he will," the ninja agreed. "Doesn't mean we can't prompt him a little," the man reached for his holster and Kakashi began to squirm. The captor's grip tightened on his ropes before he more or less tossed him to the floor and pinned him with his foot. "If you don't stop struggling I will kill you!" He threatened.

Kakashi went very still, even if this man was bluffing (and he was very certain of this), he didn't want to risk pushing him to that brink. A minute later, the ninja's leaned over him eyes leering.

"Always did wonder what a Hatake looked like under the mask," he commented as he took the kunai to Kakashi's face. The little ninja couldn't help his attempt to jerk away-it only ended up with the knife cutting into the side of his nose.

The bandages falling away, the kidnapper laughed. "I wonder if your daddy's as cute under his mask!" Kakashi frowned and the man put the sharp tool to his cheek. "Now, if you don't fight me too badly I promise it won't hurt too much."

The child's eyes went wide. He knew what was coming; lifting his leg he went to kick the man, however the ninja realized what he was up to and didn't waste anytime. Suddenly on top of him, he gripped his hair and snarled "Guess were going to do this the hard way!"

As his captor cut into his face, Kakashi couldn't stop the whimper that fell from his lips or the shout when the man finished only to punch him in the eye. Seemingly happy with his work, the kidnapper got up. He reached behind him once more and the small ninja feared the worst, however, he soon saw that he hadn't needed to.

"Say cheese!" The man snickered, taking several pictures of the battered boy. Glowering up at his kidnapper, Kakashi swore to himself that he would make this man pay-he would make him wish he hadn't so much as  _looked_ at Kakashi Hatake when he was done with him.

* * *

Listening to his partners far from eloquent story of how Kakashi was abducted, Sai stepped out of his apartment and locked the door behind him. Looking between the ninjas once they fell silent, the dark-haired youth asked.

"Is that it?"

"' _Is that it?'_ " Sakura mimicked. "Is that all you have to say?!" She demanded furiously.

Sai didn't understand. They weren't going to let the kidnappers keep there teacher, were they? His gaze shifted to Naruto who looked torn between being as angry as Sakura and disbelief at Sai's response. "We're going to rescue him, aren't we?" The ninja inquired. He couldn't picture another scenario-not with someone as bull-headed as Naruto.

"Uh, yeah we are!" The blond concurred.

The other nodded. "Then there's no reason to be so upset," he told them.

The pink-haired girl shook her head and moaned. "Why do I have a couple of weirdos for partners?" She fell back against the railing of Sai's landing. "We need to get Yamato."

Sai bobbed his head. "I do believe he's at his apartment tonight."

"Then let's go!" Naruto yelled, "We have to hurry! Who knows what they're doing to Kakashi-sensei!"

"Right," Sai smirked. All it took was a vote of certainty and the blond was back to his usual loud self.

Soon enough, the trio was off at speeds only known to ninjas.


	15. XV

"Let me get this straight," Yamato ground out, "They ripped him off of you and took off," when the blond nodded, he went on "Without giving any indication as to why they wanted him?"

"Yeah! Like I told you ten minutes ago!" Naruto snapped back.

Pressing his thumb to the spot between his brow, the brunette demanded "Has anyone told the Hokage?"

Sai shot a look to Sakura who looked to Naruto, who rubbed at the back of his head. "I...haven't?" He answered uncertainly.

Yamato let out an aggravated sigh. "Okay," he muttered. Pointing at Sai, he ordered "Go tell her."

"Right," the dark-haired youth agreed, hurrying off; leaving the other three ninjas behind.

"Naruto," Yamato said, snapping the teenager's attention back to him. "Give Sakura the key to Kakashi's apartment-I want someone there in case anyone thinks to break in or Kakashi ends up there."

"Okay," the girl agreed taking the key as the Naruto handed it to her.

Once Sakura was gone, the older ninja turned to Naruto; "Now, you're going to help look for any clues to where they might have gone or who they are."

* * *

Several photos later, a new ninja stepped into the room. he stopped at the sight of Kakashi.

"Tell me you  _didn't_ do that!"

The other, tucking away the camera, shrugged. "So what if I did? Eyes turning to the small ninja, they hold contempt. "He's that jerk's kid, why do we care if he's a little roughed up?"

The other one, shook his head and came to the boy's side. " _Because_ if they  _were_ to find out who did this...they would be much harsher on us if we hurt the child." His hands glow faintly as they run over Kakashi's injured face. A moment later the black-clad fingers pull away and eyes looking at him crinkle. "Is that better kid?"

Not trusting these men, he doesn't speak; only nodding his consent.

This seemed to appease the man. "Okay, now," he began, "I'll untie you... _if_ you promise not to try and get out once we lock the door behind us, alright?"

Seeing a chance even as the kidnapper's partner squawked his dissent, the little ninja gave his agreement. "If you untie me!" He parroted.

"Are you kiddidng!? Astuo that has to be the dumbest idea ever! He's  _The Copy Cat-nin's_ kid-that family is a line of geniuses!"

The other- _Astuo_ -hesitated then. "But keeping him tied up..."

Grumbling under his breath, the ninja relented. "Look, we'll untie him when we feed him later; alright?"

Atsuo exhaled. "Okay," he muttered.

The man swung an arm around his partner's neck and patted his chest. "He'll be fine, you'll see!" The man offered, leading his accomplice from the room and locking the door behind him.

It had to be the ten longest minutes of his life that followed. He waited with strained ears, holding his breath,  _waiting_ for them to call the rouse...but they don't. When he's absolutely certain they won't be coming back within the next five minutes, Kakashi makes quick work of freeing an arm and biting into his thumb. From there he plants it on the ground; summoning forth-

"Pakkun!" He says, having trouble keeping his relief contained.

The pug stared at him. "Wh-" he stopped, gaping. "Kakashi? What happened to you?"

"Got turned into a kid," then doing his best to keep the tremble from his voice, he finished in a wispy tone "Now I'm kidnapped..."

The dog whined and rubbed up against the little ninja's arm. "Crap," he muttered, "I'm sorry kid."

Giving his summon a holey smile, the boy shook his head. "I'll be fine!" He proclaimed, wiping at his eye with his free hand.

"So what do you want me to do boss?"

The child's face became serious as he gazed at Pakkun. "Get out of here and find Naruto or someone." His eyes darted about the room and Kakashi knew what he was going to say. "I know, you'll have to wait until one of them come in and unlock the door...the hinge is on the right side, stand over there and hopefully they won't see you when they come in."

"Okay," the pug concurred kneading the ground beside his the boy. "Until then I'll sit with you."

Two dark eyes (and isn't that the strangest thing? It's been so long...) gaze at him with relief before the child hid his face in his scruff. When he felt hot tears soaking his fur, Pakkun let it happen and knew this would just be another secret he has to take to the grave.


	16. XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, subscriptions, bookmarks and comments!

The boy and dog were alone together in that room for almost an hour when Pakkun perked up at the sound of low-pitched chatter and the clack of sandaled feet against tile. His tiny master, rubbed at his eyes; glancing at the pug and then to the door.

"What is it Pakkun?"

The pug smirked. "It's showtime boss!" He exclaimed quietly, hurrying over to the door as Kakashi hastily stuffed his free arm back in his bindings.

"-back!" The ninja that wasn't Astuo called stepping into the room with a bag of food. Kakashi didn't dare look at his dog as Astuo followed in after his accomplice; letting the door go so it could swing closed.

Holding his breath, the little ninja sent the quickest of looks to the almost shut door and was relieved to see the end of a brown tail just barely get out of being slammed on. Finally focused on the men, Kakashi glared at them.

The man holding the bag laughed. "Oh come on! We're going to untie you for a bit! The least you could do is smile for us," he half-demanded, half-sneered.

Just weary enough of what the man might dare to do, Kakashi relaxed his features and fidgeted. Astuo sighed and came over to him. "Don't be trying to scare him like that," he ordered to his partner, "Do you need to use the bathroom at all?"

"Yes!" The boy agreed hurriedly, reminded of the pressing need of his bladder with the words.

"You can't just let him go in there! The bathroom has a window!" The other ninja snapped as he put the bag of food down on a table shoved up against the wall.

The other, his fingers resting on the ropes around Kakashi's torso; turned to argue with his fellow kidnapper "Unless you wanting him pissing his pants or in a bucket, we have to let him use the bathroom!"

The man crossed his arms. " _I'm_ not going in there to watch him while he pisses!"

"I will then!" Astuo yelled back. "C'mon kid!" He grumbled, undoing the ropes effortlessly and pulling him up on clumsy feet. When the ninja saw the small ninja's difficulties, he just sighed before lifting him off the ground. "I don't got time for this!" he grunted, taking them out of the room.

Once in the hall, the child's gaze darted around and he was quick to realize that this was someone's home. When Pakkun found someone, he'd be able to give them an address and because these people were obviously ninjas...they'd have this home listed as someone's address in the books and then his team would know a thing or two about one of the ninja...

Kakashi was relieved. It was unlikely anyone would get seriously hurt and he hoped it could end peacefully. Coming to the bathroom, Astuo set him down in front of the toilet and turned his back. "Hurry up, kid," he ordered.

Not waiting, Kakashi quickly did his business and took the couple of shaky steps necessary to reach the sink where he washed his hands. Once done, the man picked him up again and they returned to the room. There, the little ninja found the other kidnapper had laid out a spot for him and put the dishes all around.

"Hurry up and eat now," Astuo's partner growled as Kakashi stared at the array. Picking up his utensils, the boy filled his plate and ate quickly like commanded; once done, he was lifted off the chair and pushed toward the opposite corner. The kidnapper telling him, "Stand there and don't turn around; got it?"

"Yes," the little ninja answered as he heard the men settle down to eat dinner themselves. Listening as they talked about nothing in particular, Kakashi came to the conclusion Astuo was a field medic and an old teammate of the other man (who he still didn't know the name of!) and that this other ninja was also a chunin. Doing his best not to squirm, Kakashi prayed that Pakkun found someone soon and that this mess would be sorted out quickly enough.

(He wondered if they would finally let him just hide in his apartment after this).

 


	17. XVII

Once he found a window that wasn't locked, Pakkun nudged it up and jumped. Thankfully, there was a balcony a floor down that he landed on and from there he was able to scope out a path from a balcony floor down-jump there, then to that tree, the lamp post a little to the left of that crooked branch and to that bench underneath the light-from there, he would be able to he find someone.

Following through his course with little trouble, he was finally on the ground and took the time to look back at the building he's escaped from. It was an apartment building, obviously, a bit run-down and when he squinted looking for a street sign he had to bark a laugh. It was right across from Kakashi's apartment!

It made one wonder. Or maybe it filled that wonder, Kakashi had never cared to find a new place to stay after the neighborhood began to take a nose-dive. Shaking his head, the pug trotted across the road and to the little ninja's place across the street. Walking up the steps, he got to the ninja's door and began to scratch on it (he knew enough about the kid to know what kind of booby-traps he set up on his place).

A moment later the door burst open to reveal his only girl student, Sakura. Her eyes were wide and gaze forward, confusion clouding them until Pakkun put a paw on her foot.

"Down here," he told her.

The girl looked down, mouth falling open. "Pakkun!" She cried, falling to her knees.

Smirking with his dog-face, he imparted to her, "They have him in one of the apartments across the street."

Her gaze lifted up and stare quite awed at the grimy building. "Really? All this time..."

"I assume people are looking for him?"

Her hand began to rub at his ear and it took a lot of will-power not to sigh as she answered him. "They are-just notified the Hokage about an hour and a half ago too..."

Lifting a paw and pointing vaguely to the left of the building, the pug remarked, "Well, one of them is named Astuo and the other is Tiro-I saw it on some reports they had on a table in one of the rooms."

Biting at her lip, the pink-haired ninja inquired. "Do you think barging it there would be a bad idea?"

Pakkun could only shrug. "Don't know," he replied, "Boss seemed pretty shaken-then again, he hasn't ever been kidnapped before."

"Kakashi-sensei..." the girl whispered, suddenly, a look of determination overcame her face and she scooped the dog into her arms. "We have to go see the Hokage now!" She decided, hurrying off to give them the new information with Pakkun.

xxxxxx

Tiro, now dressed in his regular vest and T-shirt, calmly left his apartment; only sending the briefest of looks back as he headed down the staircase. Strolling across the road, he kept himself vigilant-looking for any unexpected people and feeling for any unwanted chakra signatures. Coming to the apartment he knows to belong to Hatake, he planned just to slip the envelope holding the picture of the roughed-up kid and knock once on the door when-

"Huh," he muttered, seeing the door left open a crack. It was almost...suspicious. Frowning, he slipped the picture into the crack and backed away slowly. They would need to move to Astuo's apartment, he concluded. He didn't know what was up, but he didn't like this at  _all_.

Backing off, he deliberately walked back the way he came at the slowest speed possible; already planning the best way to get to his friend's place across town without drawing suspicions.


	18. XVIII

Slapping the files down on the desk, Tsunade lifted her gaze to meet those of the waiting chunin.

"From the names and addresses of the apartment building, I was able to conclude that the apartment where Kakashi is being held belongs to Nusumu Tiro. As for Astuo...we've come to the conclusion it's likely Hito Astuo-his surviving team member from his genin team," she explained. The Hokage fell over her papers then, looking a little more than despondent. "Why they kidnapped your teacher is beyond me..."

"But we can get him back, can't we?" Naruto questioned hard and furious, "There's nothing stopping us from barging in there and taking him back, right?"

The blond woman sighed. "You could," she concurred. "But...I think sending in a scout to make sure they aren't-" she waved a hand, "Within range of grabbing him, would be a good precaution."

Sakura looked to the dog at her feet. "Pakkun? Are you up to it?"

The pug barked. "Definitely," he agreed.

It doesn't take long to back-track to the apartments across from Kakashi's and they all loiter not too far away-only Sakura standing outside Kakashi's apartment as Pakkun is helped back to the window he squeezed out of by Yamato. A few very tense minutes later, the front door of the apartment swung opened and they all froze unsure what this meant when the summon stepped out shaking his head.

"They're gone," Pakkun admitted, "I don't know why, but they high-tailed it out of here."

"Why's that, you think?" Sakura inquired as they re-grouped in the street.

Looking to the apartment, Sai remarked, "Something must have tipped them off..."

"Go check Kakashi's apartment Sakura," Yamato ordered.

The girl sent him a slightly uncertain glance before hurrying off to do so. A shriek later, she's back at their side holding out a picture for them all to see. "Look what they did to him!" She cried holding out the picture for them to see.

The ninja pressed together staring at the bloody, bruised face of their glaring child teacher. Naruto clenched his hands into fist and breathed in raggedly, "They're going to pay!" He snarled.

"Hold up," Yamato told him, "You need to be calm for this, alright? If you barge in there-" he stopped. "That brings up the question, where do you think they took Kakashi?"

Sai flitted his gaze between them and the apartment. "What about this Astuo's apartment? Do you think they would have moved him there?"

The man then looked to Pakkun, "Do you think you could track them to Astuo's apartment?"

The dog shook his head. "No," he answered, "They covered up their tracks-though, that should be expected. They are ninja."

Yamato pinched the bridge of his nose and he muttered, "We'll just have to go scope it out then." He lifted his gaze to the girl. "But, if it's not the case..." He pointed to Sakura. "Sakura, go gather up some of the people who were involved in the search earlier-have them start asking around at hotels and things of that nature-on the off chance they would have gone there instead."

The pink-haired teen nodded. "Right!" She agreed hurrying off.

Once a short distance away, the brunette turned to the boys and pug. "Let's get going, the longer he's with them..."

"The more the odds of things going in our favor disappear," Sai replied.

As they left the street, none of them noticed the half-folded letter sitting in the dust.


	19. XIX

Kakashi was getting tired of this. After they had tied him back up and left the room, he'd expected to be alone for quite a while (a perfect opportunity to work on a second plan if Pakkun fell through). But, hardly five ten minutes later, the man who wasn't Astuo was back eyes glinting wildly. He'd come to the boy then, staring down at him for a moment before his hand came down-hard.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Kakashi had been expecting something of that nature so instead of it hitting him squarely in the head; the ninja ended up hitting his ear. It still hurt and he was nauseous (probably a concussion), however he knew what to do and feigned falling limp-dead to the world. Lying there, he heard Astuo come in.

"Is it done?"

The kidnapper picked him up, hands slipping under the rope to lift from the ground. "Yeah," he answered, "Get the bag."

"Are you sure we couldn't-"

The man jostled him as he spun around. "Now Astuo! Do you really want to jeopardize the plan that much?!"

There was silence, pungent and heated, finally, the other ninja came into the room and took Kakashi's slack body from the accomplice. "Of course I don't," he said softly, "I want everything to go smoothly just like you do Tiro, I just don't..." his voice faded for a moment. "My place is where they're going to go to next if we've been compromised, you know? Maybe we should go to Shin's old place..."

"No!" Tiro roared, "I refuse to go there! He'd-he'd-"

"He wouldn't like what we're doing at all," The kidnapper holding him sighs, grip tightening briefly around Kakashi.

The little ninja heard Astuo's cohort walk away. "It doesn't matter if he wouldn't like it-he's dead." There's some more uneasy silence before Tiro spoke again, "Get him in the bag, we need to get out of here."

There's a sigh. "Right."

Astuo placed him in what he assumed to be, blanket-lined duffel bag and it took all of the child's will-power not to open his eyes and jump out as he heard the zipper closing him in to the bag. Once it wasdone, Kakashi opened his eyes. Inside, it was a dark color, black or blue (not that it mattered); but enough pin-pricks of light flooded through around the zipper to give him the ability to see. Listening intently, the little ninja heard feet around him.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

The bag fell taut as the handles were lifted and Kakashi took the movement as chance to slip his arm from the already loosened ropes. Kakashi froze as he felt one of the captors pull at one of the straps;

"Are you okay Astuo? You are on leave for a shoulder injury..."

"No, he's not heavy at all! But I guess that should be expected, he is so small."

As he lifted his finger to tug at the zipper's end, the small ninja bit back a growl. Even when kidnappers were talking about him all they had to say revolved around his stupid size. It had to be one of the most annoying parts of his childhood, he decided. The way people always thought his size mattered (it didn't, he was smart enough to trick some of the smartest adults and that-that won him battles). Oh well, he exhaled, Kakashi always showed them in the end.

He was determined to make this one of those instances.


	20. XX

Sitting in the middle of it all with knowing there wasn't anything he could do, agitated Pakkun greatly. The ninja, while unable to carry out any true actions, could still mill about talking tactics and share new bits of information as it was discoverd. With a great sigh, Pakkun fell forward on his paws and wondered if he shouldn't just go home. They didn't need him right now, did they? And it's not like he could find Kakashi either...if he disappeared, the kid could summon him again. Unless, of course, the little ninja was being watched doubly hard because his team was beginning to close in on them.

Putting his paws over his muzzle, he tried to remember if he'd ever been in a situation like this one before-sticking around even when Kakashi wasn't there. He didn't think he so, not quite like this, anyway. There had many times over his life (or at least since Kakashi could summon them) that he's spent extended time in this world. He, along with the rest of the pack, had spent many nights with Kakashi after his father died; his friends died, his sensei died. Once or twice, he'd even gone out of his way to spend time with the boss's teammates (Obito had been a real loud mouth and Rin knew just where to scratch him behind the ear). This though...

He didn't think he'd ever been in such a nerve-wracking situation. He  _knew_ Kakashi was in trouble, but he couldn't  _do_ anything. The only thing to keep him from going home was that he feared he wouldn't find out what happened to the small ninja if he did, (what if he was killed? What then? It wasn't like Kakashi had pups to pass his family's summoning scroll on to).

Grumbling lowly in his throat, he got up and began to pace once more.

* * *

When Astuo put the bag down, Kakashi closed his eyes.

"Is he still out?" Tiro demanded.

The duffel began to open and the small ninja fearfully shifted to better hide the fact that he'd slipped one of his arms free. Thankfully, the kidnapper didn't open the bag more than he needed to. "Yeah, I think he'll wake up soon, though, he's moving."

"Good, come help me board up this window." The ninja ordered and Astuo walked away to help. Seeing what could be his only chance, Kakashi lifted his head up just enough to peer around the sides of the bag as the sound of nails being hammered into a wall started. Miracle of miracles, they left the door  _open_!

Hurrying to get his last arm out, the child's heart beats wildly as he sat up and sprung out of the bag-Astuo and Tiro distracted just long enough for him to free himself of the rope. The hammering stopped just as he passed the threshold.

"Hey!" Tiro screamed.

Kakashi sprinted down the hall, the duo fast on his heels. Realizing that they were likely to catch him if he didn't do something quick, the boy decided to expend a little chakra to use a body flicker technique to get him out of the house. Once outside, he realized he was in the old Uchiha compound. Feeling quite terrified at the fact because  _no one_ has come here on a regular basis since the Massacre, Kakashi took several unexpected turns and back-tracked a few times before ducking into a home that had a broken door.

Scampering through the house, he found an overturned bookcase to hide beneath and decided to stay there until morning. He didn't want to be caught-who knew what measures they'd take to keep him then. Shivering slightly, he curled himself into a small ball and began to wait for the pink glow of daybreak.


	21. XXI

Pakkun sighed as he watched ninjas come and go from Kakashi's apartment. He didn't think he could stick around and watch this any longer...but the dog also didn't want to disappear all together. He wanted to be near enough to know if, no,  _when_ Kakashi was recovered. With this goal in mind, the pug came to the decision to take a stroll. It would help him ease some of the tension that was building up from the waiting. Getting up, the pug left the apartment without issue and began to walk the streets of the village.

After criss-crossing Konoha several times, Pakkun came by the old Uchiha district. He paused. Kakashi and him had come here a number of times over the few years the kid had been apart of a team-it had been hard not to with a teammate like Obito. Squinting down the long road, the summon came to the conclusion that few must come this way any longer. The massacre undoubtedly having scared away anyone who was not an Uchiha from ever stepping foot here again. Without thinking it through, Pakkun began to walk into the compound.

The further he walked, the more his nose was bombarded with stale smells and weeds; he turned his head just so once and caught the scent of something else. Sweat. Hurrying after the smell, the pug is so very shocked and relieved. He  _knows_ this sweat! It's-it's  _Kakashi_ _!_ The summon ran after the smell, following it's strange trail to a weathered house and then to a deserted room.

Pausing at the threshold, the dog thought better than to step right in. Who knew what the kid might have done to it; he's always been resourceful. "Kakashi!" He called. "Kid! Everyone's looking for you!"

The bookcase moved a bit, otherwise, the boy made no sign that he planned to reveal himself. "There better not be any traps," the summon grumbled as he came into the room and walked to the up-ended shelves. Coming to them, Pakkun paws at the scuffed up wood. "Kid?"

It lifted a little and Kakashi peered out with dark eyes filled with relief.

"Pakkun!" The child sighed.

The pug smirked-tail wagging behind him. "I knew you could get yourself out of trouble," the dog complimented.

Tiny hands reached to him and the summon obliged falling into the pair and he didn't question the bookcase falling back over them. The small ninja would explain, the dog was certain. The boy shook against him as his little fingers moved up and down his coat. "I ran away," he admitted, "And-and they  _saw_ me run!" He muttered, "They have to be looking for me..."

Licking the crook of Kakashi's elbow, the pug informed the child "I hadn't seen anyone."

"That doesn't mean they aren't out there!" The gray-haired youth hissed.

Taking comfort in the beating of his young heart, Pakkun suggested "I can lead you to your kids, if you want-I'll hear the guys or smell them if they're nearby."

Short arms tighten around his torso. "What if they surprise us? I don't think they'll ever let me go after I've runaway once..."

"They won't" the pug swore. And he meant it. He'd kill Astuo and Tiro himself if he had to.

A shuddering breath later, Kakashi agreed. "Okay," he whispered.

"Let's go then," the summon urged.

And they did.


	22. XXII

Walking the empty streets of Konoha side by side as they took the long route to Kakashi's apartment, Pakkun kept an ear open and his nose poised-ready to alert Kakashi at a moments notice. It would turn out to be for naught. After finally leaving the abandoned Uchiha district and finding themselves hardly more than a stretch from the small ninja's home, one of the search party jumped in front of them.

Kakashi got down on his knees quickly, tiny arms wrapping around Pakkun in his surprise. The boy's fear became short-lived once he realized who stood in front of him.

"Tenzo!" The child exclaimed happily.

The man-pale and seemingly awed-knelt in front of them. "Are you well Kakashi?" He inquired, hands hovering around his boss's tiny face.

"Mmhm!" Kakashi agreed, hugging the summon a bit closer, he explained. "Pakkun found me!"

"That's..." Yamato seemed unsure as how to continue; eventually settling with "Good." Gaze raking over them for any signs of injury or fear (his boss was doing a lot better now-he was on familiar ground and no long felt the need to be scared) "Would you mind if I picked you up Kakashi? You must be tired after...escaping?"

The gray-haired child cocked his head. "I guess," he agreed. His dark eyes dropped to the pug who rose his stare to meet his, "Can I still hold Pakkun?"

Arms already around the tiny ninja's waist, the adult nodded. "Of course," he mumbled. Once safely in the man's hold, Kakashi hid his face away in his shoulder with a quiet sigh.

"Have you found them yet?" he asked, voice muffled.

Yamato looked down to the boy. "Who?"

A pout on the youth's face, he questioned for a second time, "Have you found them?"

"I don't know," the brunette replied, "We've all split up to look for you..."

"All of you? You all went looking for me?" Kakashi inquired sounding just a little miffed.

Coming closer to the small ninja's apartment the adult grunted "Yes, we had to-you are important to us, after all."

He could feel Kakashi's hand dig into his vest as he squirmed in protest. "I'm not that important," he argued, "I'm not really little! I can take care of myself!"

Pakkun yipped in disagreement. "Think I gotta disagree boss, you woulda stayed there all night if I hadn't come."

"Where?" The brunette implored as they made there way up Kakashi's steps.

"The old Uchiha compound."

Yamato considered this as he shoved the small ninja's apartment door open. "Creepy," he finally murmured.

Seeing they were back in his home, Kakashi let the other conversation go in favor of bringing up a new complaint. "No one's here," he whined.

Shifting the small body so he can see his couch, the man whispered "That's not true," pointing at the pink-haired girl passed out on the couch. "Who's that?"

"Sakura!" He half-shouted, a little smile playing on his lips. The teenager shifted in her exhaustion, but otherwise slept on.

Bouncing the tiny boy, Yamato hushed him. "Quiet down," he scolded, "she's been worrying herself sick with your kidnapping."

The child was yawning now-showing the gaps between his teeth inside his pink mouth-"Mm," he muttered. "Can I have Pakkun in my bed?"

"If you want," the ninja exhaled gaze flickering to the dog who only lifted his shoulders in answer.

Little fingers woven in his vest, Kakashi then implored the man "Don't leave me, okay?" Face squishing into the fabric of his shirt, he muttered "I don't want to wake up tied up again with strangers..."

"You won't."

"Promise?"

Fingers running through soft gray locks, Yamato swore "I do." And he meant it too, Kakashi would have two or more ninja with him at all times until he was fixed-he was obviously worth more than any of them had ever realized. Tucking the child and his summon beneath the boy's sheets for the first time in almost two days, Yamato scooted back to rest against the bedroom wall and began to wait.

 


	23. XXIII

Naruto and Sai found them. Astuo and Tiro wore all black and had everything exempting their eyes covered in the pre-morning light; they couldn't have stood out more on the village streets. Approaching them, neither Naruto or Sai said a word; the blond cracking his knuckles and the glares the men received were more than enough for them to get the message. They knew their asses were going to get beat. It was a given at this point.

As they lay into the men, Sai going so far as to even take a kunai to their faces; the other boy thought maybe it didn't matter  _why_ they took Kakashi at all. What did matter was they thought it was okay to take a sleeping seven-year-old from his student, to knock him out, to tie him up and to cut up his face and bruise his pale skin. What mattered was that they made Kakashi Hatake- _the_ copy-cat nin-look vulnerable (seven-years-old withstanding) and Naruto didn't know if he could ever be okay with that. He shouldn't have to be okay with that.

The snap of a broken nose and cough of man spitting out blood was a song to the young ninja's ears. It was solace in a world where nothing was making sense. He was  _doing_ something. No more biding time, no more planning, no more speculating; he had these men and he was doing all that he had been forced to wait for. He hardly realized he went a step too far and put a knife to one of their throats-Sai's steadying hand brought him back to reality.

"That's good Naruto," he murmured, "We've done enough." Shaking, the blond let the kunai drop.

Turning to the dark-haired teen, he asked hoarsely "What are we going to do with them?"

"Taking them to the hospital seems like the logical step at this point," Sai replied; eyes on the passed out men.

Gazing at the bloody, black and purple faces; the other can't help but agree. "Yeah and then we tell grandma Tsunade."

"Good idea," he smiled, "You're using your head for once!"

It's just funny enough to hear it come from Sai's mouth instead of Sakura's that the blond barked a laugh. "Yeah," he agreed. "She'll get them to say why they did it, won't she?"

With a grave nod, the ninja answered "Yes." Grabbing the front of one of their shirts, the dark-haired boy said, "Now come on."

Taking his own kidnapper by his collar, Naruto followed.

* * *

Sakura wakes up to the smells of breakfast and the arguing voices of a man and child. Sitting up with lighting speed, she rushed to the kitchen where she found Yamato at the stove cooking what appeared to be eggs and Kakashi sitting on the counter-without a mask.

"No! It's not an omelette without eggplants!" The child unhappily told the brunette.

"How many times do I have to tell you there aren't any here and I'm not running out to get any!?"

Feeling tears of relief flood her eyes, the girl laughed. "I'll get some," she offered. "Would that be okay with you Kakashi-sensei?"

The tiny ninja smiled, the gape-toothed grin more beautiful than anything she's seen in a couple days. "Thanks Sakura!"

Yamato frowned. "Hey now," he grunted, "it's not fair to make her run out like that."

The boy's curved lips were quick to turn into a thin line. "She offered," he reminded the ninja.

"For the love of-" he rubbed at the stubble coming in on his chin. "I'll get it." Turning to the pink-haired girl with the pan in hand, he leveled her with a stare. "Do  _not_ let him eat anything until I have the eggplant, alright? If he's going to whine that it's not finished without the stupid stuff then he can wait until there is some in it."

Coming over and taking the pan, the girl just smirked at the man. "Of course," she concurred as Kakashi made another plaintive protest from behind them. She can't begin to describe how relieved she feels just to have her teacher back (child or otherwise). Everything almost felt normal.


	24. XIV

Coming to Kakashi's apartment, weary, knuckles bloody and eyes so very gritty from hours of worry and a week's worth of short-sleep; Naruto couldn't even begin to properly describe the euphoria he felt at the sight of his tiny, mask-less,  _smiling,_ teacher. The little body absolutely pummels his knees as he meets them with rare affection.

"Thank you!" He cried muffled into the fabric of his pants. "Thank you for looking for me!"

Naruto is too choked up to say anything, but luckily for him, Sai knew exactly what to do. "You're welcome Kakashi-sensei," he replied gently.

The boy stepped back then, gazing up at them with an inscrutable stare. After a moment, he came and tried to climb up Naruto with his clothes; the blond, a little miffed at the action caught the small child and lifted him to his shoulder instead (like when before he was kidnapped). On his shoulders, small hands tugged none too kindly at his hair.

"Don't be sad Naruto," the boy grumbled, "I'm  _fine_."

The teenager gave a watery chuckle. "I'm not sad," he declared, "I'm  _happy_!"

His teacher's tiny, so very astute face dipped into his vision. "You did a very good job lookin' out for me," he remarked. "As good as sensei ever did."

"Yeah right," Naruto muttered disbelieving; as far as he could tell, Kakashi had never been kidnapped under  _his_ sensei's watch.

The boy sucked in a breath-that ear piercing whistle sounding. "No really!" The boy argued, "Minato-sensei wasn't perfect either! I got hurt tons of times on the battlefield and on missions and stuff! Sometimes things just happen and-and in the few days I've been with you, I can promise that was hardly the worst of my experiences."

When he put it like that...the blond did feel slightly better. Kakashi had a point, worst things had happened to him. Then again, none of those things had been due to  _his_ direct negligence before. Naruto winced as he felt another, harsher, tug at his hair. The child-ninja's glare seemed almost deadly in the instance he uttered "If you don't stop moping, I'll give you a good reason to!"

It was funny enough to hear from such a childish voice for Naruto to be shocked into barking a laugh. Some good humor returning to him, he snagged the kid around the armpits and pulled him over his shoulders and teased, "I'd like to see you try!"

Kakashi turned solemn. "I could," he insisted. "I'm still a ninja." He cocked his head to the side, eyes curving along with his lips. "A ninja that's even better than you!"

That annoyed him a little. "Hey now," Naruto grumbled, "Who's holding you right now?"

The tiny ninja twisted out of his arms, landing easily on his feet. "No one!" He exclaimed breezily as he began to walk in the direction of the kitchen. "C'mon! Breakfast is waiting!"

Naruto looked to Sai who shrugged. The change between child and adult wasn't hard to pick out, but when they mixed together...it became harder to tell which was ruling the boy more. Hopefully, Tsunade would be able to fix this soon. After beating up the kidnappers for them, anyway.

Letting himself relax, the teenager put his hands behind his head and shouted after the small ninja "Jeez! Hold on Kakashi-sensei! We're coming!" Saying something like that almost made everything as it always was-Kakashi tall, cool and invulnerable. If Naruto tried...he could almost pretend that tuft of gray he saw sitting on the table was actually just his teacher leaning over his plate and not a kid trying to make Yamato give him his share of the meal.

He missed  _his_ Kakashi-sensei.


	25. XXV

It wouldn't be quite right to say they were  _tired_ of their little teacher because that would imply that they were bored or had become disillusioned with him in the past few days; if Kakashi's team were to be truthful, they would have to say they were utterly  _exhausted_. In the last couple days, Kakashi seemed to have only regressed further into a childish state.

He was still scary smart and had a sense of humor like no other. However, they were beginning to pick up on the fact that their teacher might have been a manipulative  _brat_ as a kid. And how weird was that? Knowing what your instructor was like as a child-not through stories, (though, they didn't even really have anyone to tell them stories-so many of Kakashi's childhood precious people being dead and all) but through actual experience.

Head on the table as he watched Kakashi trace another symbol beneath his little fingers, Sai felt the need to say "No Kakashi," and when the boy sent him a glare that was half-irritated and half-innocent (as if he wasn't sure which approach to take with him) he grumbled "That one will use up too much chakra."

The tiny ninja relaxed a little and looked to the words again. "I'd be fine," he asserted.

Bringing a hand to lift his weary head up from the table, the dark-haired teen scoffed. "Maybe after a stay in the hospital for chakra exhaustion!" And it was true, for whatever reason, this new found youth had made Kakashi even more of perfectionist than they knew him to be.

Kakashi's glower was defiant as his finger moved on to the next section. "What about this one?" He demanded.

The ninja isn't anywhere dull enough to fall for the obvious trap. "Naruto's passed out from your morning training, Sakura is at the hospital meeting with the Hokage, Yamato is-well, who knows and I'm  _sick._ " Emphasizing the fact with a sneeze.

"But I'm  _bored_ " the boy partly whined and mostly threatened. It was quite obvious to everyone that a bored Kakashi was a dangerous Kakashi (that rigged bathroom was proof enough).

Closing his eyes, Sai rubbed unhappily at his eyes and told the child "Summon Pakkun or someone? Maybe they'd be willing to read with you?" Or they'd convince him to take his nap. That'd be really good right about now.

"You said  _not_ to use chakra," the small ninja reminded him.

"Ugh, fine-"

"Finally!" The boy cheered scrambling up to his feet, hurrying for where he left his kunai by the front door when said door swung open.

Sakura, bright and beautiful, stood in front of them beaming like an answer.

"We found it!" She shouted. Grinning unlike anything he's seen in almost two weeks, she cried "We found a way to reverse it!" Coming into the house, she swept their tiny teacher into her arms and laughed "You get to be an adult again Kakashi-sensei! What do you think about that?!"

The kid seemed stunned briefly, but his little arms wrapped around the pink haired teen and he demanded, "Take me to the cure!"

She smiled and nodded some more. "Right, right," the girl concurred, "Tsunade's getting everything put together for us as we speak-Sai, get Naruto; he's going to want to be there."

Putting the child on her hip, Sakura suggested spiritedly "Why don't we get you an outfit for when you're big while Sai gets Naruto?"

"Yeah!" Kakashi replied, that silly whistle coming out for a reason that the dark-haired ninja can't quite name.

Smirking as they leave the near vicinity, Sai went to the couch where Naruto was hanging half-off with an arm flopped over his face. Pushing him off, the teenager muttered;

"Hey, we're getting our sensei back."

Naruto cracked open a eye, smiling through his exhaustion. "I heard," he admitted, "It's a good thing, huh?"

"It is," Sai agreed.

 


	26. XXVI

Sitting on the starched sheets of a hospital bed, Kakashi did his best not to squirm in his too large clothes and tried not to pout as Tsunade went through explaining the procedure to his team.

"And then, like so..." she muttered, bring her hands together after a complex array of movements. Finally, she brought them within inches of Kakashi's chest and finished with "You put your hands to him and it should work."

"And you only need Sakura?" Sai questioned.

The Hokage nodded. "The text said it only needed two people."

Naruto, for his part, was doing a lot of pouting. "Why can't we be in the room though!?" He whined.

The older blond's eye twitched. "Pleas Naruto," she hissed, "Be  _mature_  for once in your life and wait outside with the rest of the boys."

Blue eyes found Kakashi's gray, another question on the tip of his tongue. "He will remember the past couple weeks, won't he?" He asked.

The small ninja tilted his head at that. He hadn't considered  _not_ remembering an option, then again..."Will I?" The child demanded looking to his Hokage.

The older woman sighed in aggravation. "All signs point to yes..."

"Then let's do this," Kakashi said with the stupid whistle coming out on the s of this. The women giggled and Naruto only looked even more downtrodden, so with an unhappy flapping of his hand in the too-long sleeve, the boy ordered "Get out Naruto!" and with nary more a complaint, the boy left.

Once the teenager had gone, shutting the door behind him; the tiny ninja turned back to his medic nins. "So, what happens if something goes wrong? Or I don't age right?"

Tsunade shuffled some papers and replied "We find another solution." Her voice implying that it was a stupid question.

Huffing, Kakashi pushed at his forehead protector-it kept drifting much too low on his face. "I just wanted to be sure before I agreed to something you aren't even sure will  _work_."

The woman growled lowly in her throat. "Kakashi, we are ninety-two percent certain that this is the reversal jutsu; alright? We don't have every single scroll, book and thesis on reversal jutsus and unless you want to wait a month for to get one book from the Sound Village we'd like to do this  _today._ "

That stupid, childish fluttering in his stomach increasing ten-fold, the boy frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine, do it!" He snapped back.

" _Thank you._ " Tsunade smirked and with a glance to Sakura, the two began to filter through the hand signals-a faint green glow coming to their finger tips before they shot out hitting Kakashi in the chest and head.

The surge of foreign chakra left him dizzy for a moment and then-a split second of searing pain before he passed out into the darkness of unconsciousness. His last thought being,  _no one...no one had mentioned passing out as a side-affect..._

* * *

When Kakashi woke up in a hospital bed fully-clothed in his usual garb and sore in every extremity; he began to filter through his last memories. What had he done to end up in the hospital? He remembered...he remembered a mission-a mission to get a scroll from a temple east of the village and there-there had been a monk (or maybe it was a ninja in disguise?) and then-he'd gone at Sakura, but he'd jumped in front of the girl only to-what?

He couldn't recall.

Sitting up despite the pain, the ninja felt rather upset that he couldn't remember anything after being hit by the man's hand. The gray-haired man's head snapped around at the sound of the opening door and when he looked up he was interested to see it was his student Sakura carrying a tray with water and soup.

"Hey," he greeted and the young woman nearly fell forward in her shock.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She shouted, "You're awake!" Hurrying to put the tray aside, she muttered "Lady Tsunade said you probably wouldn't wake up for another hour..."

The man's lone visible eye curved in amusement. "I've never been one to meet expectations."

She laughed. "No, not even you as a little kid matched any of my ideas of what having a little boy would be like!"

This brought the ninja to a halt in thought. Little kid? He had been a  _little kid_? Oh no, he hated to think what that must have been like for his students and Yamato...he'd never been an easy child-bratty-if he were to describe himself at all. "Erm," he stumbled, "How long was I a kid for...?"

Surprise came to the girl's stare. "You don't remember?!"

"No," Kakashi exhaled. "I wish I could-" he let his lips curve just a little beneath his mask. "I probably need to apologize for all of the things I did."

The girl hesitated to, but she eventually wrapped her hand around his. "Don't worry about it Kakashi-sensei! You weren't that bad at all-well, maybe you need to talk to Naruto or Sai, I  _was_ gone for a lot of it..." she trailed off after a breath.

Dropping his face into his hands, Kakashi inquired, "Which direction is the bathroom from here?" Maybe he could just go hide away in his apartment for a few days until this wasn't so fresh.

"No!" The girl shrieked. Blushing a deep red, she mumbled, "That's how you ran away the first time..."

That did sound like him, the ninja had to admit. Though, "the first time" comment had him wondering just how many times he ended up giving his students the slip...

"I see," he remarked. "Just how many times did I run off?"

The girl brought up her hand for counting, ticking off instances only known to her on her fingers before beginning; "Well..."

Settling back, Kakashi prepared for quite the story.


	27. Epilogue

Collapsing tiredly on his couch, Naruto expected to be able to sleep the day-if not the weekend away. Yawning into his fist, he muttered, "Man oh man, Kakashi-sensei was an exhausting kid! I wonder if that's what it's like to have a genin team..."

"I was worse, actually."

The blond flailed. Scrambling into a sitting position with a kunai in hand and thudding heart, the boy saw his teacher-tall and masked-smiling with his lone eye at him. "How did you get in here!?" The teenager demanded.

Chuckling, the gray-haired man shrugged. "You don't have a very good alarm system," he replied.

Pouting, the blond grumbled "Well not everyone is paranoid enough to booby-trap their apartments!"

The older ninja snorted and ruffled his students hair. "Sakura explained to me the extent of what you and Sai did," looking just a little uncomfortable, he cleared his throat before saying "I know I couldn't have been very cooperative..."

"Try the complete opposite!" Naruto exclaimed, "You were such a bra-" he fell short. Realizing almost too late what impact his words could have.

"Yes, well," Kakashi murmured. "I decided to pay you back by buying you a months supply of ramen-it's in your cupboards."

Blue eyes glowed. "What?!" He cried in disbelief. "No way! Oh man! I need to make you feel guilty more often! You're the best Kakashi-sensei!" The boy babbled, stretching out and hugging his teacher.

Awkwardly patting the head attached to the body of the arms wound around him; Kakashi sighed. "...You're welcome Naruto-you can let go anytime now."

The teen did with a nervous giggle. "Sorry sensei! I just got really excited!" He explained embarrassed.

"I got that Naruto," the gray-haired man smiled. "But if you'll excuse me, I owe Sai a visit as well."

"Oh, of course!" The younger ninja agreed. "Just be careful though! He does booby-trap his place!"

Bolstering the bag of sketchbooks he held in his hands, the jonin waved his students warning off. "Thanks Naruto, but I'll be fine!"

Watching his teacher disappear, Naruto didn't say anything. When he was sure he was gone, the blond rubbed his hands together and snickered, "Oh man! I wonder how quickly I can finish off that ramen he gave me!" His teacher had said it was a month's-supply, but he was hoping to prove him wrong.


	28. Alternate Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story, and doubly so for all of the comments, kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks!

"Should we wake them up so they can go to their beds?" Sakura asked as she passed by Kakashi who buried beneath several scrolls and tucked between a sleeping Naruto and Sai.

Yamato shook his head and took another sip of his hot drink as he continued to fill out paper work. "No," he answered, "If you wake Kakashi up I doubt he'll agree to going back to sleep." Looking up to the pink-haired teen with a smirk, he remarked, "It seems he's just like every other child in that respect-he doesn't ever want to sleep."

The girl giggled. "If you think it's for the best," stretching an arm up over her head she sighed. "Well, I'm off then," she told him. "My parents are beginning to fuss about how many nights I've been spending away.."

The ninja nodded. "Before you leave, would you mind tossing a blanket over them?" He inquired as he turned back to his work.

Sakura agreed. "No problem," stepping over to the closet she knows Kakashi keeps his linens in (and isn't that strange? Knowing your teacher's home as well as your own), she opens it and takes down the cute dog-patterned blanket. Covering the boys-Kakashi in particular, she waves back. "Night," she called as she left.

With the click of the closing door, only the sound of the scratching pen let the world know that someone was still awake in that tiny home.

XxXxX

When Kakashi woke, he noted that he was exceedingly uncomfortable. Opening his eye, he saw Naruto was squished up against his shoulder-drooling-and Sai...how could he be comfortable contorted like that? At some point in the night, he'd lifted half his body onto Kakashi's lap and then bent his head at such an angle that it stretched back and his head hit the wall behind the couch.

None of this was nearly as odd or upsetting as the fact that he  _wasn't wearing any clothes._ Their were scraps of what appeared to be children's clothing around him, but that made absolutely no sense and the jonin was relieved that he had a blanket covering his lower half. Deciding that he in no way wanted to wake up to his students seeing him like this, the ninja made careful work of extracting him from the boys and getting up from the couch with the blanket still around his waist.

Taking the blanket and tucking it tightly around his middle, he hardly noticed Yamato enter the room. A hand coming to his mouth as he lifted his face, he shrugged.

"Um, I can explain?"

The brunette snorted. "I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?"

Not quite certain if what the other was implying meant he was a pervert, Kakashi stiffened. "Yeah?"

"You grew up!" He explained, hands gesturing from the ground and then to the jonin's relative height.

Several puzzle pieces coming together, Kakashi's eye drifts away and he mutters, "...Obviously." Walking in the other ninja's direction, he said "Excuse me, I'd like to get some clothes."

"Of course," Yamato concurred. Half-way down the hall, the other man called down, "You know you were a really bratty kid, right?"

Opening his bedroom door, Kakashi sighed. He wasn't ever going to live this down. So, curving his eye into a smile he looked the brunette's way. "Of course I know that, I was messing with you the whole time." He fibbed.

If the look of utter rage that overtakes the ninja's face is anything to go by, he completely believes him too. Hurrying into his room, Kakashi closed the door just in time for a shuriken to pierce the wood. Looking at the sharp edge; he has to ruffle his gray hair in nervousness. "Mah, I must have been  _really_ awful."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think with a kudo/comment!


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